Archive for June, 2006

Adjusting to EgyptThe Blinding Glare of the Obvious
The Egyptian experience, from the fruitless search for a neighborhood bar, washing machines that don’t open, camel rides in the desert (complete with camel-eye views of the Pyramids), and sexual harassment, is reported here. Just scroll down through the posts for some good reads and random photos.

Also Noted

Our writer’s younger sister doesn’t have permission to rent Sex in the City but rents it just the same. Dad is told “Shrek 2“ but then discovers the truth. Outstanding writing makes this amusing story a delight to read. By Always Write.

A Cab Driver WritesDiary of a Mad DC Cabbie A DC cab driver writes about his job and passengers in a manner that’s as tough and stark as the work, so be advised. The most recent post, The Memory of Parvez Ahmed, is about the Springfield cab driver who was shot and killed Sunday night. DC Cabbie writes: This is what’s happening to cab drivers because we are easy moving targets, I know you might say we chose this dangerous profession, so deal with it or get out …. Read some of the earlier entries and you’ll quickly get a sense of what this writer experiences. Excerpt from Have You Seen John Kirkpatrick?

As a veteran cabbie I have heard all kind of stories from passengers, riders feel free to let it off because there is always that comfort zone with cabbies for some reason.

Also Noted: Rob Goodspeed has “A Modest Proposal for the Old Convention Center Site,” that calls for instilling some genuine competition into this redevelopment effort. The Goodspeed Update.It’s So Easy to Be Stupid.Until recently, I didn’t think it was necessary to wear a helmet while riding a bicycle. Then a colleague was hit by a car while riding his bike and thrown over 100 feet, writes Blue Dog Art and Design. Whose Father’s Day Is It? Family dynamics at Looking2Live. Excerpt: So I dutifully passed on these none-too-subtle hints to our children …

I’m Sorry, Who are You Again?Hey Pretty The new date seems perfect. Cute and charming, opens doors, pays for dinner, is a decent kisser, and then it all changes. Excerpt:

Suddenly you’re ceremonially deleting his number from your phone while at lunch with your girlfriends and actively seeking out rebound hookups

Pride Has ChangedMore Than My LuggageObservations about Pride, including the political invasion. Excerpt:

The parade was interesting, but not as “affirming” as I somehow remembered it to be. There were a surprising number of politicians in the parade.

Also Noted: The title and fire of Rock Creek Rambler’s post, The Nanny State, is worth the $50 ticket (perhaps not to RCR) that led to it. His post has been featured on DCist and WaPo’s Express. RCR believes police have better things to do than to ticket those caught sans seatbelt. Check out DC CrimeMaps. Those little red things that fill the map are crime incident reports, and if seatbelt enforcement helps reduce the crime rate then it may have some justification. But if that isn’t the case, then take a trip though this excellent NE neighborhood blog, stop, blog and roll for its round up of garden tours and homicides. The seatbelt enforcement campaign follows last year’s jaywalking enforcementcampaign. Shirts You Didn’t Know You Need. This is a comprehensive guide to getting the kind of T-Shirt that will make you stand out. After getting accosted by numerous friends and strangers alike regarding where I get my shirts, I decided to come up with a list of online t-shirt sites that I frequent, writes You Look Like I Need a Drink. Many entertaining examples. Defeeting habits: What makes these people think that it’s ok to make yourself at home and just let your feet be free in public? The OC Girl writes after witnessing some digits … Chili dogs with the works for $1.50, burgers under $4 and frosty mug drafts at less than $3, writes WFY in an appreciative report about the Vienna Inn. At Washington Metblogs. But what makes the place is atmosphere. The cushions in the booths have needed to be restuffed since at least the Reagan administration and don’t count on your fries and dogs coming out the same time.Vietnamese Pho that’s as good as what this writer was served in San Jose is available on 6th by the MCI, writes Zutroy at this is by us. Another writer on this group blog, AmaZingGold, goes to La Tascasand makes reservations in advance at opentable.comBlogger nuptials at Big Head Rob, a report on some recent blogger marriages. And Webcowgirl has photo from her recent bridal shower.Reston loses a minor charm: the small white-on-navy blue street name signs. The very bland white-on-green and “blaringly large” white-on-blue signs are the new standards. Photos illustrate the change at Pedantic Nuthatch. Growahouse makes a case for the importance of seeing An Inconvenient Truth. The writer has been chronicling a rehab of a semi-fire damaged home. His motto: earth, water, sunshine, and a 220 bit drill set.

Once More, With TongueSpokompton 90210Our writer, a Dupont Circle resident, observes people. There’s the “Fat Reading Man,” “Limerick Man, “ the “Crooked Wig and Jumpsuit Guy” or CWJG, and a woman holding up the line at Chipotle for a special order. It starts:

One’s mind is never at rest in Dupont Circle. Seeing as I live and work in the Dupont neighborhood I’ve seen a lot of things: the guy decked out in his man-pri, mandal, man-purse combo wearing a bright pink baby-t that reads “Plow Boy” (the whole thing just makes me nervous), the overly clueless tourist family and lastly the crazy, (possibly) homeless people.

Case in PointRoarSavageThe concept behind social networking is fundamentally flawed and RoarSavage explains why. Clearly, “mixing friends” can be a mixed bag, she writes. Excerpt:

I think he had expected me to sympathize. But obviously, I couldn’t. I wasn’t mean about it. But while our perfect gentleman wondered how his friend could have kept the secret so long, I couldn’t help but verbalize …

Three scenes from the Metro in a nicely titled post, Voices Carry. The first, a universal question and its tears, “Are we going to talk about this or not?” A brief encounter with a DOD employee displaying his badge, and an amusing take on some clueless interns. From Washington to Washington, a new blog.

Does your conscience bother you? Before the votes were counted the blogger at Jaybeas Corpus, a Washington College of Law student, knew how his former home state, Alabama, would vote on an amendment preventing gays from marrying. (News report here) And don’t get me started on the Federal Marriage Amendment, or whatever it is they’re calling it. It’s just as bigoted and hateful as the Bama bill. For more on the federal bill, It’s Not Over at The Republic of T

Also Noted: The pastel-athon and DC theme park at Princess Sparkle Pony’s Photo BlogOn the road to inspection; a car repair report by Wanderings in DC. California race is a harbinger of what’s to come, writes A Silent Cacophony: I don’t think giving 110% this time around will ultimately make any difference, and so I’m not pouring my energies into doing more like I should be doing. That both shocks and saddens me. After a year of blogging, Zeldafitzhas ended her blog. She explains the decision and what prompted her to start blogging. Her reasons for beginning a blog may ring true with many: I started this as a way to keep some form of creativity in my life when I was living through very stressful job times. For me, it’s been the best exercise in being able to dream up things, notice things, ruminate, and then formulate something–usually a piece of my heart–and put it out into the world. DC Theater Reviewsmarks its 100 Review. Our single goal is to promote live theatre in Washington, DC and provide a place theatre fans can come to read about shows and discuss them, writes Ronnie.

A Way to Help Save Someone’s Life. Stef at The View from 16 St., tells of a Metro woman, Pam Miles, with Cystic Fibrosis, whose health “has taken a dramatic turn for the worse.” A lung transplant will be needed and a substantial amount won’t be covered by insurance, approximately $200,000. Stef writes: Every once in a while, an opportunity comes along where we can use our reach as blog writers and blog readers to easily help someone who is in need. Elevator Snubbing in Friendship Heights. The tyranny of those in control of the elevator door. DC Arts Girl. Also featured on the Express. Wicked writes about the apparently new mint flavored birth control pill.Avert Your EyesTouché, Doll … and Ouché. Washington Cube. Enhanced Gravity, more fiction by Washington area writers. The Happy Booker. The DC Spelling Bee for adults. This is what Reya had to say about this post by And I Am Not Lying, For Real, … And I mean G-R-E-A-T, not G-R-A-T-E Joie de Vivre, some observations about living in the city at All About The Pretty. She wrties: There is nothing better than coming home to fresh flowers. The great thing now is the cost is not too expensive. Here in DC you can buy 8-10 roses outside the Metro for about $6. This is almost the price of a large fancy coffee. District Insider, the MySpace project of Ariel. Helpful guide to local events, music, art.

Win A Date With DC Cookie The title says it all and men with heartbeats are eligible to participate. But first, there’s a gauntlet of questions and judges, too. Writes Cookie: Have you ever lurked, trolled, or wandered through my blog archives and been intrigued enough to daydream about what it might be like to spend a few hours in Cookie’s world? Why it’s never a good idea to leave DC. What happens after the writer of Are Seven pulls off the interstate. Mayoral evaluations. Sprite Writes attends a DC mayoral candidate’s forum with Random Duck. They file entertaining reports about the flaws and promise of each of the candidates. Some excerpts:

Writes Random Duck: Linda Cropp seemed to take claim for almost everything that’s happened in DC over the past 15 years, which isn’t entirely true. She touted experience and “the ability to achieve compromise” as her platform, and promised the world. To me, it was empty boasting, and very distant.Writes Sprite: Marie Johns, former head of Verizon, speaks very quickly. I suspect she spent some time in New York, because no one down here speaks fast. This may cost her some votes, since no one will be able to understand her when she speaks at her normal cadence.

Lobbying ScandalsPrecious Precious Overcaffeination Lobbyists can get free lunches, too, writes Red Storm, a lobbyist, blogger and master of post Abramoff-era skills, such as reverse lobbying. This requires special knowledge of arcane techniques such as the bait and switch menu and a tolerance for cheap beer. Excerpt:

I noticed a grim look on the government official’s face when he got his bar tab, but I thought nothing of it at the time. Turns out my drinks ended up on his tab.Oops

Also noted:Ask KAC is in a taxi that someone attempts to hijack. Baby, you can’t drive my cab. Excerpt: … But then I saw that he was holding something, so I opened my door and got ready to bolt … just as he turned around and told me to stay in the cab. Scared, a Sleepy Girl’s Thoughts on Life Flashing lights, ambulances, car accident, Brittany Spears music in the background … flawless, powerful, and emotionally-charged writing. A jogger records her discoveries while on the Sligo Creek Trail. They include weed smoking and other adult activities. From Oh So SomethingFinds housing via Craig’s List. Chronicles. … it seemed like a good balance between “young professionals” and “progressive activists,” writes Sarah. Click here for dcblogs.com/livePhoto: Map shows KOB’s pathetic high-tech jogging routine. Global Positioning System (GPS) data is collected from Garmin Forerunner 201 and uploaded into Google Earth via GPS Visualizer, an online Web application, which converts GPS data into a file that Google Earth recognizes. The line colors represent jogging speed variations ranging from embarrassing to sad. Start point is near Foggy Bottom Metro, down 23rd Street, along Constitution to Mall museums, half loop with stop at Natural History Museum for a large popcorn, diet coke and people watching. Quick jog to Smithsonian Metro entrance, where line ends.

The joys of condo ownership and the $4,800 special assessment, explained by The Liberal Banana. But you can rent: Apparently nobody wants to rent out apartments around here, writes Synergizement.Big for sale sign on Dupont condo, photo by Haunt of Crows, who writes: buying in DC seems like madness for us. New blog by a V from Seattle, Washington to Washington. And this is how it begins: My journey began in December, when my husband (‘Odin’) and I found out that he got a job in Washington, DC. For two Political Psychologists, moving to DC was a childhood dream come true. We both finished up our Master’s dissertations a year ago, so we were primed to head over to the Nation’s Capitol and make a difference. A Sunday brunch recommendation at dcfud, Caribbean Breeze. As a percentage of the overall blogging population, law school students have a big slice of the pie. But that aside, WonL has discovered a curious link from a woman who alleges to be law school student and courtesan. WonL warns this writer about consequences of her actions and hopes it’s all a farce. Please visit dcblogs.com/live for the latest.

Profile: Kimberly WilsonCreative DCThis outstanding post is a Q&A interview of a remarkable woman, Kimberly Wilson, a former paralegal who opened a yoga studio in Dupont Circle. Wilson, who is also a blogger, has a book coming out this fall, Hip Tranquil Chick. Her story fits the mission of Creative DC, which explores this city’s creative life. It’s an inspiring story that begins:

Kimberly Wilson is proof that you can take an idea – a dream, even – from concept to reality. Seven years ago, this former paralegal became so inspired by yoga that she began teaching classes in her living room; now, without any formal business training, she runs a popular Dupont Circle studio, along with a clothing line and more.

Also Noted Concerning this post, On Clichés and Changes by Dealing in Subterfuges, Reya sent a note about it and hopefully she won’t mind seeing part of it here: .. today’s post is different in mood from the usual biting cynicism of Jordan Baker. It brought a tear to my eye. Spread the misery on June 11, which is Citywide Amplified Free Speech Day. That means: On Sunday, June 11, a small contingent of neighbors from the 700 block of 8th Street NE will gather at a corner in Georgetown NW to exercise the right to free speech and the right to make all the noise we desire using a very loud, battery-powered amplifier. Our group will be blasting amplified free speech near a residential area at the corner of Wisconsin and N Streets NW from 3-5:00 p.m.Here’s the equipment. This concerns a chronic complaint about street preaching near H NE. Quest for Quiet. This has the makings of a sad scene. Story and background here: Voice of the Hill and Frozen Tropics. The little league coach of a team of 6-year-olds writes: There are a dozen six-year olds that I see twice a week that call me coach. I got a great group this year. They’re awkward, wide-eyed, and have about as much balance and body control as Oprah falling down a flight of greased stairs …. By Throwing Hammers. Not yet: Pedicabs in DC, but here’s a link to a franchiser. At The Wash Cycle. Photo: Faded missing poster on a utility box on Pennsylvania Avenue in Foggy Bottom. Visit dcblogs.com/live